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Provincial delay leaves paramedic project in limbo

Luke Hendry/The Intelligencer
Hastings-Quinte Paramedic Chief Doug Socha holds his vehicle's radio microphone Wednesday in Bancroft. The service and its partners are ready to launch a pilot project to improve ambulance dispatching between regions but have been waiting a year for provincial approval.

Area paramedic services are ready to try improving service through more efficient dispatching but are still waiting for provincial approval one year after requesting it.
The auto vehicle locator pilot project was submitted in January 2017 by Hastings-Quinte Paramedic Services in partnership with Northumberland Paramedics, Peterborough County-City Paramedics, technology firm Ferno AceTech and the Eastern Ontario Regional Network.
Hastings-Quinte paramedics are dispatched by the central communications centre in Kingston. Another centre in Lindsay dispatches Peterborough and Northumberland paramedics.
But neither centre can track ambulances in the other’s area.
The project, if approved, would allow the communications centres’ staff to track each other’s ambulances during a three-month period.
Members of the Hastings-Quinte emergency services committee heard officials’ frustration during Wednesday’s meeting at Bancroft’s North Hastings Health Centre.
The ambulance closest to a call is the first one dispatched, regardless of where the ambulance is based.
But Hastings-Quinte Chief Doug Socha said dispatchers on both sides can’t immediatle determine the locations of ambulances across the border between their coverage areas.
That causes two ambulances – one from each area – to be dispatched to some calls, he said. Once they’re on the way, it’s determined which is closer. The other is then cancelled. Until then, however, neither can be sent to another emergency.
“This process commits resources, is a duplication of service and may have longer responses,” Socha wrote in a report to the committee.
He said his service remains in contact with Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care but has yet to receive approval.
An Oct. 4 ministry response did appear to be “moving towards the trial,” Socha wrote, but a Nov. 1 update revealed a decision would have to be prioritized among other ministry projects.
“Clearly time is not important for them at this point, but it is for us,” Hastings County chief administrative officer Jim Pine told the committee. He’s also co-leader of the Eastern Ontario Regional Network, which he has said is ready to fund the less than $8,000 required for the pilot.
“This is a stand-alone, three-month trial completely funded by the Eastern Ontario Regional Network so it’s no cost to the Ministry of Health,” Socha said.
“We’re really frustrated that it’s taken a year to get an answer.”
He said the ministry is also rolling out a new computer-assisted dispatching system, so he understands there are other priorities.
Pine said the network and county made commitments in one week and he expected the ministry would take no longer than a few months to rule.
“It’s been a year of lost time that we could have had some good data that we think would improve the operation of the ambulance business generally – not only for us but for other ambulance providers around the province,” said Pine.
He said the partners may ask for the support of Ontario’s chief digital officer and deputy minister for digital government, Hillary Hartley. Appointed in March, she’s charged with ensuring government services are “simpler, faster and better for users,” according to a government news release.
“Here’s a classic example of what we might be able to do using technology and it’s within a government operation,” Pine said. “We don’t want to wait much longer.”
Quinte West councillor Karen Sharpe, who chairs the emergency services committee, called for provincial support.
“We feel there are savings in resources and better effectiveness” to be gained, she said.
“It’s frustrating that something that makes so much sense is not moving forward.”
“This is crazy,” said Hastings Highlands mayor and committee member Vivian Bloom.
“You could be saving lives by getting there faster or not having two ambulances going to the same place.
“I can go on my iPad in five seconds and see what plane is flying over my house,” she said.
“We should at least be able to track a local ambulance.”
lhendry@postmedia.com